Business Highlights

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By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — ___

Cyber Monday transforms as shoppers are more connected

The Monday after Thanksgiving is still a time when millions of Americans shop, but a one-day Cyber Monday frenzy appears to be going the way of the dial-up modem.

Shoppers who have high-speed connections at home and on their phones are pouncing on deals that stores are spreading out over several days, leaving the so-called Cyber Monday online shopping bonanza in danger of losing its title as the top online sales day.

So retailers are shifting to a stream of discounts and alerts during the entire week via email and social media.

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Trade body says Boeing was offered illegal tax breaks in US

U.S. plane maker Boeing received illegal tax breaks from Washington state, a world trade body ruled Monday, adding that the federal government should now take action to end that support.

The World Trade Organization found that the support the state promised to give Boeing from 2024 to 2040, on the condition it keeps certain production in the state, amounted to "prohibited" subsidies. The WTO ruled that $5.7 billion in subsidies were illegal. But Boeing said the figure excessive and only "future incentives" of $50 million a year were found impermissible in the decision.

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First flight in half century leaves Miami bound for Havana

The first regularly scheduled flight to Cuba's capital in more than a half-century left from Miami on Monday, just three days after the death of Fidel Castro.

Several airlines began routes to other Cuban cities earlier this year. But this flight was the first of the new Havana-bound service and the first of four daily flights American Airlines plans out of Miami International. Several other airlines will commence regular travel to Cuba later in the week.

The flights were made possible under newly restored ties between Cuba and U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.

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Stocks pull back from records; banks, retailers fall

Stocks pulled back slightly on Monday, retreating from the records the market set last week.

Consumer companies and banks took some of the largest losses. Small-company stocks, which have been outperforming the rest of the market for weeks, gave back some of their recent gains. Consumer discretionary stocks were among the hardest hit, following the closely watched post-Thanksgiving sales push.

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Global economic agency urges more infrastructure spending

An international economic agency said Monday that the kind of infrastructure spending promised by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could boost global growth, but warned that protectionist tendencies hurt prosperity.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development hit an upbeat note in its latest world economic outlook Monday, thanks in part to stimulus efforts planned in the U.S. and China. It raised its forecasts for global growth to 3.3 percent for next year, up from 3.2 percent.

The intergovernmental agency's chief noted that markets have rallied on Trump's promises to cut taxes and increasing infrastructure investments, but said it remains unclear how many of those pledges Trump can or will fulfill.

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Delta bans rude pro-Trump passenger for life, gives refunds

Delta Air Lines is banning for life a passenger who rudely professed his support for Republican President-elect Donald Trump and insulted those who didn't on a flight, the company's CEO said Monday. The airline is also refunding the cost of tickets for other passengers on the Nov. 22 flight from Atlanta to Allentown, Pennsylvania.

A video posted on Facebook by a passenger shows a man standing in the aisle, yelling and insulting supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The man asks loudly: "We got some Hillary bitches on here?" He proceeds to clap and yell Trump's name a few times while other passengers seemingly try to ignore him.

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Fruit of the Loom CEO dies at age 68

Fruit of the Loom says Rick Medlin, its president and CEO for the past six years, has died. He was 68.

The company announced that Medlin died Sunday of natural causes at his home in South Carolina. He had led the Bowling Green, Kentucky-based Fruit of the Loom since August 2010.

The statement called Medlin a "sincere and principled leader" who was proud of the company's progress.

Fruit of the Loom Inc. is a Berkshire Hathaway company that designs and manufactures family apparel, underwear, and athletic apparel and equipment.

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Massachusetts Uber, Lyft screenings called toughest in US

Drivers for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft will undergo what state officials call the most comprehensive background checks in the U.S. under agreements announced Monday by Gov. Charlie Baker's administration.

The screenings will begin on Jan. 6, with both companies guaranteeing that every driver on the road will have passed a thorough state criminal background check by April 3, according to the separately negotiated deals.

The new Massachusetts protocols establish a "national standard" for screening those who drive for the ride-hailing firms, Baker said.

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Pilot strike prompts Lufthansa to scrap 1,700 more flights

Lufthansa is canceling more than 1,700 flights scheduled for the coming two days as a union representing the German airline's pilots resumes a campaign of strikes.

Lufthansa says it's scrapping 816 flights on Tuesday and another 890 on Wednesday, affecting around 82,000 and 98,000 passengers respectively. The Cockpit union's latest walkout follows four consecutive days of strikes from Wednesday to Saturday last week. It is part of a pay dispute that has festered for more than two years.

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Thousands protest across India against currency policy

Thousands of people demonstrated across India on Monday to protest the government's decision to withdraw large-denomination currency from circulation, which has caused enormous hardship to millions of people in its predominantly cash-based economy.

Nearly three weeks ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that 500- and 1,000-rupee notes would become worthless overnight and would be replaced by new currency in a bid to stamp out corruption and tax evasion.

The surprise decision pulled 86 percent of the country's money supply out of circulation, leading to serpentine lines at banks, which often ran short of currency, showing that the government was ill-prepared for the move.

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Trump's threat to end Cuba detente may rouse GOP opposition

President-elect Donald Trump's threat Monday to "terminate" the U.S. detente with Cuba could trigger opposition from some Republican lawmakers and corporate leaders who favor continued engagement with Havana.

Since 2014, when President Barack Obama began to normalize relations with the island, the United States has taken numerous steps to increase commercial travel, commerce and the flow of information to Cuba.

Following Fidel Castro's death Friday, top aides to Trump signaled that the Cuban government must move toward enacting greater freedoms for its people and giving Americans more in return if it wants to keep the warmer U.S. ties that Obama initiated.

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The Dow Jones industrial average lost 54.24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 19,097.90. The S&P 500 fell 11.63 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,201.72. The Nasdaq composite lost 30.11 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,368.81.

Benchmark U.S. oil jumped $1.02, or 2.2 percent, to $47.08 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1, or 2 percent, to $48.24 a barrel in London. In other energy trading, heating oil rose 4 cents to $1.51 a gallon, wholesale gasoline rose 4 cents to $1.41 a gallon and natural gas rose 15 cents to $3.23 per thousand cubic feet.

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